Mick Armstrong is
a member of the National Executive of Socialist Alternative. His publications
include: 1, 2, 3, what are we fighting for? The Australian student movement
from its origins to the 1970s and The Labor Party: a Marxist analysis.
sbma2 @ bigpond.net.auBill Dunn teaches political economy at the University of Sydney. His
latest book is Global political economy: a Marxist critique (Pluto,
London 2009). bill.dunn @ usyd.edu.auBen Hillier bmh @ netspace.net.auPeter Jones is a socialist activist, and recently completed his honours
thesis on the political economy of emissions trading. u2545097 @ anu.edu.auRick Kuhn’s Henryk Grossman and the recovery of Marxism
won the Deutscher Memorial Prize in 2007. Rick is a socialist activist in Canberra.
rick.kuhn @ anu.edu.auTom O’Lincoln is a Melbourne activist, and author of several books
on left and labour history. suarsos @ alphalink.com.auLouis Proyect is a computer programmer at Columbia University who was
active in the Socialist Workers Party from 1967 to 1978 and in the Central America
solidarity movement in the 1980s. He moderates the Marxism list, www.marxmail.org.
lnp3 @ panix.comJaney Stone is a long time socialist, women’s liberationist and
activist in many radical movements, who knew Jeff Goldhar all his adult life.
Janey has contributed to several books, including Rebel women, and
is at present working on an article about the Australian folk revival of the
1960s. chacha_1_2_3 @ hotmail.com

As we publish, the Australian
dimension of the global economic and financial crisis is deepening, but still
in its early stages. It is likely to become far more serious in coming months,
and as it does we expect a major discussion among Marxists. This issue does
not pre-empt that discussion, but provides some raw materials for the debate
and foreshadows some likely issues.

There is likely to be
a sharp debate about the costs and benefits of emissions trading. In his article,
Peter Jones argues that emissions trading is not a solution to global warming
but rather represents a new vehicle for capital accumulation.We
are beginning to see arguments for economic protectionism, both from vulnerable
sections of capital and from the labour movement. Bill Dunn explains how about
the cases for protection and free trade are, in reality, seriously exaggerated;
and that both are inherently capitalist.

The roots of capitalist
crises typically lie in preceding booms. For that reason, Ben Hillier reviews
the recent special issue of the Journal of Australian political economy. Looking
at the evidence, he argues that an underlying tendency for profit rates to fall
even in boom times laid the basis for today’s crash.

In times of crisis, both
the right and social-democrats can be expected to play the race card. In a discussion
of the Howard era, Rick Kuhn considers how the Howard government used racism
to manage the political situation.

The Great Depression culminated
in world war, and while it would be rash to forecast this for the near future,
imperialist conflict is likely to sharpen. Tom O’Lincoln challenges conventional
views about the Pacific war.

To meet the political
challenges of capitalism in crisis, the left needs organisation. But what kind?
Louis Proyect, moderator of the Marxmail internet discussion list, debates Mick
Armstrong, author of From little things big things grow.

Abstracts

Saving
the planet or selling off the atmosphere? Emissions trading, capital accumulation
and the carbon rent Peter JonesGovernments are increasingly
implementing emissions trading schemes, ostensibly to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions. Karine Matthews and Matthew Paterson argue that the drive to implement
emissions trading is primarily driven by the goal of supporting capital accumulation,
rather than environmental considerations. This article ultimately agrees, but
argues that their approach is not consistent with Marx’s labour theory
of value. The concept of the ‘carbon rent’ is used to develop a
more consistent approach to understanding how the state can use emissions trading
to distribute income away from the poor and working class. full
article (PDF)

Neither
free trade nor protection but international socialism: contesting the conservative
antinomies of trade theory Bill Dunn
Attitudes towards international trade are remarkably polarised. Most mainstream
economists advocate free trade as a mainstay of national and global prosperity.
Meanwhile, many critics see it as the major cause of inequality and poverty.
This polarisation is remarkable given the weakness of any systematic relationship
between the propensity to trade and overall economic well-being and the practical
infrequency of complete openness or autarchy. The dualism of trade theory is
supported by, and reproduces, a conservative worldview which tends to obscure
other more determinant aspects of political economy, and directs opposition
to global capital into safe, nationalistic channels. full
article (PDF)

Xenophobic
racism and class during the Howard years Rick KuhnBetween 1996 and 2007, the
Howard Government used racism to sustain its popularity. From the late 1990s,
the primary victims of racist campaigns against immigrants were refugees who
arrived by boat, without official permission. After 9/11 2001 the focus increasingly
shifted to Muslims and Arabs, who were more explicitly targeted from 2005. While
the conservative parties’ racist policies served electoral purposes, their
campaigns were also shaped by a deeper logic: the interests of the capitalist
class and its capacity to influence state policies. The declining appeal of
racist arguments and policies contributed to the Government’s demise in
2007. full article (PDF)

Whose liberty? Australian imperialism and the Pacific war Tom O’LincolnAustralia presents
its Pacific War effort as a fight for liberation. This article challenges that
view. The Allied forces were fighting to re-impose their own imperialist control,
and this includes Australia. The war is best understood as part of a long term
pattern of imperialist contention. The wartime intervention in East Timor, the
battle to sustain control of Papua New Guinea, the restoration of Dutch rule
in eastern Indonesia and Canberra’s determination to play a role in the
occupation of Japan, all illustrate this theme. full
article (PDF)